Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Exploding oil trains – news links to get you caught up

On December 30th, just outside of Casselton, North Dakota, a
train carrying tank cares of Bakken crude oil exploded. Though I still
haven’t figure out what is more scary, the images of flames and smoke so
unreal looking that only Hollywoood has come close previously, or the
fact that news like this is becoming more regular, one thing I know for
sure is that the dialogue over transporting crude oil has reached a
level I never could have imagined. Below is a rundown of some of what
you might have missed over the last week or so.

First however is the “why” you should care about this.
As is stated on our “Oil-by-Rail” page on our website (which
I realize now is horribly outdated, but it works), oil companies want
to ship massive quantities of crude oil to Oregon and Washington ports
and refineries, putting Spokane and the Spokane River once again in the
unfortunate crosshairs of dirty energy. That train that exploded in
North Dakota was traveling east. However if it was traveling our
direction, it would have been maybe a half dozen hours or so from
Montana. No more than a day’s time from downtown Spokane.
There are currently upwards to a dozen proposals for new ports or
transit terminals on the west coast, facilities that would handle
incoming Bakken crude oil from North Dakota that is destined for
refineries up and down the west coast. All of that Bakken crude would
travel through Spokane. Like with proposed coal export projects, the
shipping of dirty crude oil through Spokane would leave Spokane and the
Spokane River with all of the risks.
You can read Sightline Institute’s The Northwest’s Pipeline on Rails for a comprehensive, region-wide review of all the oil-by-rail projects planned or currently operating in the Northwest.
Casselton, North Dakota could have very well been Spokane, Washington. Or even scarier, it COULD be.
Here is the rundown of the news in case you’ve missed it. And for
the record, this is in no way meant to be a comprehensive update, just
news bits I found interesting and share worth.

January 2nd:
In possibly one of the biggest breakthroughs in the whole oil by rail
debate to date, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration (PHMSA) on January 2nd issued an alert to, “notify the
general public, emergency responders and shippers and carriers that
recent derailments and resulting fires indicate that the type of crude
oil being transported from the Bakken region may be more flammable than
traditional heavy crude oil.” http://www.valleynewslive.com/story/24350419/safety-alert-on-bakken-crude-issued-after-casselton-derailment

January 3rd:
My friend and colleague John Wathen, the Hurricane Creekkeeper from
Alabama started this website to keep people up to date on the Bakken oil
issue. John was on the first plane he could hop from Alabama to North
Dakota to photo and video document the oil train explosion, as he was
when an oil train derailed in Aliceville, Alabama. In my opinion, John
is one of the most important people in the world shedding light on the
reality of this mess. Here’s that website, which is a work in progress
- http://bakkendebate.blogspot.com/
Similarly, this Facebook page, “Bomb Trains”, popped up around the
same time. This page is based out of Spokane and is a great resource.
- https://www.facebook.com/BombTrainsJanuary 5th:
The Spokesman-Review editorializes that better regulation is needed http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/jan/05/editorial-oil-train-regulation-going-off-the-rails/#comments
Meanwhile, the DeSmogBlog got real deep on just what is in crude oil - http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/01/05/exclusive-permit-shows-bakken-oil-casselton-train-contained-high-levels-volatile-chemicalsJanuary 6th:
Though not related to the North Dakota derailment, this piece on the
cost of the cleanup of the the deadly oil trian derailment Lac-Mégantic,
Quebec that killed 47 people shows just how crazy this oil shipping
scheme is.http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Saturday+Extra+Huge+scope+M%C3%A9gantic+cleanup+comes+into/9348298/story.html
The train derailment and explosions in Lac-Magantic, Quebec,
Casselton, North Dakota and Aliceville, Alabama, the pipeline breach
along the Kalamazoo River in 2010, and the grounding of the Exxon-Valdez
tanker in 1989 are reminders that accidents happen and have devastating
consequences when it comes to transporting oil. One Riverkeeper
supporter said it best at a recent public hearing in Spokane over the
proposed Tesoro Savage oil transit terminal in Vancouver, WA, “sending
exploding oil trains through Spokane is a sure way to redevelop our
motto from “Near Nature, Near Perfect” to “Near Nature, Near Disaster”